I've been noticing an alarming trend in grocery stores. Even the ones that try to mimic a farmers' market by decorating their produce sections with rustic wood crates and hay bales are doing strange things to vegetables.

They shrink-wrap the popular parts - the celery and romaine hearts, for example - and cut off and discard all the edible extras. I can only wonder, where have all the beet leaves, carrot tops and leek greens gone?

When food waste is at an all-time high, you'd think we would be embracing the whole vegetable rather than tossing aside the less-prime parts. It's these often-maligned or misunderstood extras that I tackle in a new cookbook called "Root to Stalk Cooking: The Art of Using the Whole Vegetable." It's the plant version of nose-to-tail cooking, but instead of pig's feet and beef tongue, the recipes utilize fennel fronds, radish leaves, broccoli stems and even corn husks, deliciously.

While whole vegetables may be scarce at supermarkets, farmers' market shoppers and vegetable gardeners are familiar with produce that has all its extra greenery, stalks and roots intact, and many of you are looking for ways to use them up.

Just as buying a whole chicken is more practical than the pricey boneless-skinless breasts, whole vegetables are a much better value than packaged celery hearts or broccoli crowns. They're also usually fresher - food degrades once it's broken down, and carrots with bright green tops are a sure sign of a recent harvest.

It's a locavore catch-22 that just as our interest in local food expands, the amount of food we waste as a nation keeps increasing. It's now estimated that 40 percent of all food in the United States is wasted, with global estimates ranging from 30 to 50 percent. Just imagine the correlating amounts of wasted land, energy and water that go into its production.

As food costs have risen, it only makes sense to get more out of each food purchase. And, from a culinary perspective, many of these extra parts have a slightly different character than the main vegetable, offering new opportunities for building flavor and texture in a dish.

I don't suggest anyone be hard-core about this, even though my husband has nicknamed my book "Compost Cookery," given its earnest bent. There are plenty of times I do just compost carrot tops, which aren't that wonderful tasting on their own. They do, however, make a lovely salsa verde or quinoa tabbouleh if you go to the effort to save them.

But I'm strident about buying broccoli with its stems attached, since I love their sweet crunch, once peeled. Plus I get more servings out of each bunch.

In the same vein, I've learned to consistently slice cauliflower through the stem to get more out of it, and to add the sweet broccoli or cauliflower leaves to whatever I'm making.

I used to assume the dark green part of the leeks were inedible since every recipe tells you to cut them off. But, they actually taste like a cross between chives and spinach, and they take on a silky texture if you cook them long enough - which is about twice as long as the white and light green parts.

In many recipes, I call for only one part of the vegetable, such as a shaved broccoli stalk salad with crumbled cotija cheese and lime. But in others I combine the "main" and the extra parts, depending on the situation and the amount you may get from one vegetable.

Here are a few things you can do to preserve certain vegetable parts longer:

-- Use radish greens or beet leaves first, even before you use the actual radishes or beets. The root tops don't store well once you chop them off. Try a creamy dressing, sweet corn and tomatoes with spicy radish leaves. Add sauteed beet greens to a grain salad or strata, or any dish where you would use kale or chard.

-- Fresh herbs can go bad quickly. Instead of throwing out half a bunch, preserve them by chopping them and adding acid (vinegar or lemon juice) and/or fat (olive oil, butter or even rendered pork fat) to make simple sauces and spreads. These can be frozen for a week or longer.

-- Extra vegetable parts can also be frozen for stock. I especially like to freeze asparagus tips; each bunch is precious, and they really do add flavor to a soup or braise.

-- Leek greens or tops hold well in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, which is fortunate since you often end up with a ton of them. That is, as long as the store hasn't hacked them off and sent them to that great compost bin in the sky.

Let's hope that's a grocery store trend that turns around, since by cooking with all those extras you can make at least a tiny dent in overall food waste, and get a lot more value and flavor out of the food you buy.

Root-to-stalk strategies

Here are some ideas for getting the most out of the whole vegetable:

Artichoke leaves: If you're trimming artichokes down to the hearts for a pasta sauce or appetizer, don't throw out the leaves that have piled up on the counter. Gently steam or blanch them until tender, then roast them in a hot oven with olive oil and sea salt until golden. Serve with mayonnaise or melted butter.

Asparagus stems: Each time you snap off the tough ends, place them in a freezer bag until you have enough to make an Asparagus Stalk Stock. For each quart of stock, you'll need the ends from about 3 or 4 bunches, plus some chopped onions, celery, and herbs, preferably of the scrap variety. Add about 6-8 cups of water, or enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes. Strain, and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Broccoli stalks and leaves: Cut off the stalks and any leaves at the base of the florets, then cut each stalk into batons by removing the thick outer layer with four long cuts of a chef's knife. Shave this tender part of the broccoli into slaws or salads, or use in a stir-fry, and add the leaves to either. Both are delicious raw or lightly cooked.

Cauliflower stems and leaves: Instead of always cutting the florets off the stem, cut into the whole head and through the stem to make cauliflower steaks about 1/2-inch thick. The flat surface caramelizes well when you pan fry or roast them. Add in the tender leaves at the end of cooking.

Carrot tops: These greens can stand in for parsley when finely chopped, especially in a version of the Italian herb sauce salsa verde. Or, add some to a grated carrot salad to balance the sweetness. Just trim off the lower thick stems from the carrot tops, then remove any thicker stems or discolored leafy fronds.

Chard stems: After removing the stems from the leaves, simmer them in salted water until tender. Puree with tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil to make chard stalk hummus.

Fava beans: These legumes usually require a double round of peeling, but if you toss them in olive oil and salt you can grill them whole until the beans steam through in their shells. After grilling, the peel even becomes tender enough to eat, or you can opt to just pop out the beans, like edamame.

Romaine lettuce: Rather than throwing out the outer dark green leaves you don't use in a Caesar, simmer them with peas in a soup or save to use them as wraps, as with Korean bulgogi and rice.

-Tara Duggan

Radish Leaf Salad With Corn, Tomatoes & Salted Cucumbers

Serves 4

Peppery and fresh, radish leaves are tender enough to play the part of lettuce with a spicy kick. Here their spiciness is tempered with sweet corn and tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, which are salted first to firm up their texture.

Salad

2 Persian cucumbers, or 1/2 English cucumber (unpeeled is fine)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

-- Leaves from 1 bunch radishes, washed and dried

4 radishes, halved if large, and thinly sliced

1 ear of corn, cooked and kernels removed

1 large ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 cup finely chopped red onions or shallots

-- Freshly ground pepper

Dressing

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon honey or sugar

-- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

To make the salad: Quarter or halve the cucumber(s) lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Slice the cucumber, place in a small bowl, and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse, drain, and pat dry.

Meanwhile, remove any stringy stems or yellowed parts from the radish leaves, then tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Place the radish leaves, radishes, corn, tomato and onions in a salad bowl.

To make the dressing: Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the cucumbers to the salad with salt and pepper to taste, toss with the dressing, and serve.

Chard Stalk Relish With Pine Nuts & Sultanas

Serves 4

When you have leftover stalks from a bunch or two of chard, you can chop them, saute them until tender and then toss them with golden raisins (sultanas) and toasted pine nuts to make this tangy relish for pork, lamb or firm fish like swordfish. With its vinegar-soaked raisins, the relish even works as a creative substitute for cranberry relish at holiday dinners if you double or triple the recipe.

Instructions: Place the golden raisins in a small bowl with the vinegar and water. Let soak while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place the pine nuts in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Watch carefully, as they burn easily. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and red chile flakes and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is mostly tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chard stalks and cook for about 2 minutes. Add a splash of water, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the stalks are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the sultanas with their soaking liquid and bring to a simmer. Let the liquid cook off slightly, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the pine nuts and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

You can refrigerate the relish up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and add the toasted pine nuts right before serving.

Potato Skin Chips

Serves 4

Making use of potato skins and rendered bacon fat, this crispy snack can be a byproduct of any recipe that calls for potatoes and/or bacon. Or, you can save bacon grease when you cook bacon and keep it in the refrigerator to make this recipe later. The slight bitterness of the potato skins is matched by an assertive brown sugar spice mix and the smokiness from the bacon. You can tell these chips are done when the bacon aroma becomes unmistakable.

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

-- Skin peelings from 4 russet potatoes

2 tablespoons bacon fat, warmed until liquid, or olive oil

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400°.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, paprika, pepper and thyme.

Place the potato skins in a medium bowl. Pour the bacon fat over, then sprinkle with half of the spice mixture. Turn the potatoes to coat evenly in the fat and spices.

Spread the skins evenly on a baking sheet, making sure that most of the pieces are in contact with the bottom of the pan - this helps ensure they become crisp. Sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture.

Bake until the potato skins start to become crisp and golden, about 12 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until uniformly crisp, 3 to 6 minutes more. Serve right away on a plate lined with paper towels.

Leek Greens Stir-Fry With Salty Pork Belly

Serves 4

This recipe originally came from Tony Sung of Eric's Chinese in San Francisco, who makes a version of a Taiwanese stir-fry with cured pork belly and the dark green ends of leeks, a substitute for a particular kind of baby garlic shoots that are difficult to find here. It's a brilliant way to use a part of the leeks that usually gets thrown away. Serve with medium-grain rice.

Instructions: Place a wok or large frying pan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and chiles and stir-fry until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pork belly and stir-fry until the fat is translucent, about 3 minutes.

Tilt the wok to pour off all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add the leeks and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add the sugar and stir-fry 1 minute more. Stir in the soy sauce and serve immediately.

Note: If you're not used to stir-frying with lots of whole chiles, start with about 5 or 10 and turn on a fan because the fumes can make you cough. Chinese dried chiles, or Hunan chiles, are sold at Asian markets, as is air-dried, salt-cured pork belly. If you can't find the pork belly, you can use pancetta sliced 1/4-inch thick, then into 1-inch strips.